Russian fintech companies are starting to participate in the country’s digital ruble pilot as the central bank looks to expand the scope of its CBDC project.
According to Russian media outlet Cnews, SimbirSoft and Sinara Lab will help central banks and their banking partners “implement digital ruble software products in online and mobile banking applications.”
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The move appears to indicate that the Russian government may be taking cues from China’s central bank’s CBDC strategy.
The digital renminbi has been successfully integrated with the banking platforms of several state-owned banks and neo-banking companies.
Sinara Lab is the fintech-focused IT arm of Sinara Banking Group. He works with clients such as Sinara Bank, Gazenergobank and his Delobank, which specializes in small and medium-sized enterprises.
The company is headquartered in Yekaterinburg, one of 11 Russian cities currently piloting CBDC.
It mainly focuses on remote banking systems. However, it plans to work with the central bank on the “integration” of banking apps and the digital ruble.
SimbrSoft, on the other hand, is headquartered in Ulyanovsk. We specialize in app development and have developed mobile apps for companies in the financial industry.
In its early years, the company has worked with clients including the Bank of Japan, Japan’s central bank.
The participation of Russian fintech companies in CBDC pilots suggests that the central bank may be considering developing its own app for the digital RUB.
Central Bank of Russia: Early interest rate cuts could trigger a new wave of inflation https://t.co/nHuj04OlS9 pic.twitter.com/GHUbBfVKM2
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The People’s Bank of China has launched its own digital yuan app, and the Russian government may be considering doing the same.
Russian companies eager to participate in CBDC trial
However, officials from both companies insisted that their current focus is on introducing CBDC in the private sector.
Sinara Lab officials claimed that by using the company’s digital ruble adoption product, banks can shorten the implementation period from “an average of six to nine months to two to four months.”
Dmitry Peterson, SimbirSoft’s chief operating officer, said his company and Sinara Lab will work together. He explained:
“The implementation of the digital ruble is a technically complex project for any bank. Banks need to build protocols according to the requirements of the central bank.”
Bank bottlenecks cause payments in Russia and China to be delayed by six months, officials say https://t.co/w0XPsChXfj
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Peterson concluded:
“As part of this partnership, we will support Sinara Lab.” […] In order to achieve a common goal: the effective implementation of the digital ruble in the world. [Russian] banking sector. ”
The central bank announced in February that 17 more banks would take part in a “second phase” of the experiment, with a nationwide rollout planned for 2025.
